Asakusabashi in Tokyo's Taito ward is an area just south of the more famous temple and market district of Asakusa. Asakusabashi is between the electronics and games district of Akihabara and the sumo district of Ryogoku.

Fu Xiang Chinese Restaurant, Asakusabashi, on Edo-dori

Asakusabashi is best known for its traditional Asakusabashi doll shops and fireworks stores, as well as shops selling koinobori carp streamers. Asakusabashi also has a lot of clothing accessory businesses such as leatherwork shops, button shops, bead shops, and the like.

Around Asakusabashi Station (JR Sobu line and the Asakusa Subway line) is the cluster of restaurants, bars and fast food joints you'll find around any station in Tokyo, but Asakusabashi is not generally well known for its dining.

Fu Xiang interior - spacious, clean, modern

Nevertheless, Asakusabashi has several excellent restaurants worth making the special trip for. One of them is Fu Xiang, an elegant Chinese restaurant that serves gourmet Chinese cuisine.

I went to Fu Xiang with friends last week for dinner. The front of the Fu Xiang is a beautifully tended garden. Entering, we were immediately charmed by the interior of the restaurant itself: set down a little from the street with a two-story high ceiling, a tastefully decorated interior that emphasized elegance and spaciousness, subtle designer lighting, and a touch of genuine class about the furniture and fixtures.

The next pleasant memory of the evening was thanks to the service: genuinely warm and unaffected, the perfect balance of casual and attentive.

Fu Xiang, soup

Fu Xiang vegetables

But, being a restaurant, what topped it off was, of course, the food: authentic Chinese approached with a delicacy of touch while maintaining the same kind of care and simplicity as characterized the service. The flavors were rich and savory, while the vegetables maintained just the right crispness and balance of seasoning.

Fu Xiang has the right kind of atmosphere for almost any occasion - in our case a meeting after several months of old friends. Check out the very goodlooking Fu Xiang website for details.